Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 5

5. A Schedule is Set

“Are you… on bad terms with the members?”

Jackpot!

Oh Hee-tae’s eyes sparkled with interest.

In contrast, Jong-woo’s expression twisted.

*Doing a boring interview and disappearing versus doing an attention-grabbing interview and getting hate.*

Neither option was good, so he was worried.

But Jong-woo decided to stay put for now.

As things stood, Woo Yeon-woo was a noise marketing [a marketing technique that involves creating controversy or generating buzz to attract attention] card.

Woo Yeon-woo’s image was already bad, so the only way to salvage the group was to use it.

*Woo Yeon-woo would be upset if he knew, but he wasn’t Woo Yeon-woo’s personal manager.*

He had to choose the direction that would benefit the group the most.

Unaware of what Jong-woo was thinking, Rembrary shook his head again.

“It’s not that.”

“You said you’re not on good terms.”

“Neither good nor bad.”

“So—strictly a business relationship?”

“Probably.”

Rembrary nodded, recalling the members who dragged him around without listening to his story.

If they were on good terms, they would have listened when he said he was sick.

*Pushing him onto the stage even when he was sick?*

They definitely weren’t on good terms.

Oh Hee-tae hid the corner of his mouth, which kept twitching upwards, and asked again.

“Can you tell me about the dorm?”

“It’s very small.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s a bathroom, but there’s no bathtub. If there’s no bathtub, is it even a bathroom?”

“Wow… do you really think so?”

“Yes.”

“By any chance, is Woo Yeon-woo a son of a wealthy family? You sound rich when you talk.”

Rembrary shrugged without a word.

“I don’t know.”

He didn’t know anything about Woo Yeon-woo’s past.

He was told to keep the memory loss a secret, so this story was difficult to answer.

After that, Oh Hee-tae fired off several questions in a row.

*What’s the hardest part about being an idol?*

*What do you have to say to the fans since you’ve become a hot topic?*

*What do your colleagues say about this, etc.*

It was a kind of psychological tactic to keep asking questions without giving him time to think and make him tell the truth.

Each time, Rembrary answered honestly, and Jong-woo gaped and twisted his body.

* * *

Today, we met Woo Yeon-woo of , who became a hot topic due to the broadcasting accident!

is a boy group that LLL Entertainment launched for the first time three years ago.

As befits an agency specializing in actors, all the members have outstanding looks, which became a hot topic!

Among them, Woo Yeon-woo boasts a beautiful appearance enough to be in charge of the visual center of .

But unfortunately, they weren’t getting as much response as they had hoped.

Two days ago, on the live stage of Music Music, he shouted, “I don’t know how to dance!” and suddenly chose silence.

Since then, it has become a hot topic on SNS [Social Networking Service] and various online communities.

There were various opinions as to why, so we heard the story directly from him.

Q. Are you aware that you’ve become a hot topic?

A. I don’t know. I don’t care.

Q. You’re an idol, doesn’t the reaction bother you?

A. People are always concerned about me. It’s not a one- or two-day thing, so I try not to get caught up in it.

Q. Your tone is fresh. Is it a concept? (Woo Yeon-woo used a historical drama tone!)

A. (Did not answer!)

Q. Why didn’t you dance on the Music Music stage?

A. I wasn’t feeling well.

Q. Before the music came on, you shouted, ‘I don’t know how to dance!’ Was that a meaningful statement?

A. Fellow member (Hye-gyeol) asked if I knew the dance of the famous idol NNC, so I answered.

Q. Are the team members on good terms?

A. It’s a business relationship. Neither good nor bad.

Q. What is the dorm like?

A. Very small. There isn’t even a bathtub. A bathroom without a bathtub is not a bathroom.

Q. Are you the son of a wealthy family?

A. (Did not answer!)

Q. What are the hard things about idol life?

A. I can’t sit in a chair even when I’m sick. (I wanted to hear more about what he meant, but the manager blocked me! I wonder if there’s a story behind it?)

Q. You’ve become a hot topic this time, do you have anything to say to the fans?

A. Do I have fans?

Q. What do your colleagues say about this?

A. They asked if I was crazy.

Q. Do you have anything to say to the readers who are watching this interview?

A. I love you. God bless you.

* * *

The public’s eyes were sharp.

They sharply distinguished between Woo Yeon-woo’s answers and the answers prepared by the agency in the interview.

After reading Yeon-woo’s interview thoroughly, CEO Im pondered whether to cry or laugh while looking at people’s reactions.

The answers were a mess, and people questioned Woo Yeon-woo’s character.

Some said that speaking in a historical drama tone was artificial, and many said that his personality was bad because he said he had a business relationship with the members.

Regarding the part about not having fans, there were complaints that he was ignoring the fans.

*Isn’t a handful of fans even fans?*

No, that was the majority of the comments.

But many people admired the appearance in the pictorial.

In this industry where most idols are swept away and disappear even if they become a hot topic, he caused two instances of noise.

Noise marketing definitely seemed to have worked.

CEO Im put down his cell phone and smiled awkwardly, asking Jong-woo.

“Did the kids see this?”

“Yes.”

“What did they say?”

“They seem upset about the business relationship part… but they weren’t that upset.”

CEO Im sighed and asked again.

“What’s the reaction elsewhere?”

“Yeon-woo is getting a lot of hate.”

“No, I mean, did any broadcasting stations or anything contact us?”

“SingSingSingSing contacted us and said Wild Animal can appear.”

“Not bad. What else?”

“MusicIO also said we can appear next week.”

CEO Im nodded.

SingSingSingSing was a music program that was a rival to Music Music, which ruined the stage this time, and MusicIO was a weekend music program with fierce competition.

, who had been unknown for three years, was a program where they could barely appear in the front order only for their debut stage.

It was a program where they had to call dozens of times and buy meals to appear once more.

Since they ruined the Music Music stage, he thought that even that wouldn’t be possible anymore.

But if they contacted him first, it was still better.

They must be expecting the buzz, and even the people who are hating now will be curious and stare properly when Yeon-woo is on stage.

No, they’ll watch with their eyes wide open to hate even more.

This was also an opportunity for them.

“Dress the kids up nicely and ask ‘Marna’ to do their makeup.”

Marna was a famous makeup shop that recreated people to the level of re-creation.

Famous idols and actors all get their makeup there, but LLL Entertainment had never worked with them before.

The price range was too expensive.

“Their schedule will be full next week.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to ‘ask’.”

He meant to pay several times the money and schedule a dawn appointment.

“It’s okay if they don’t accept it continuously, just for these two stages.”

Jong-woo nodded.

“Yes.”

“Dress them up cool, too. Especially Yeon-woo.”

“Yes.”

“It’s going to be hard to scout his personality, so make sure to highlight his appearance.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, have Yeon-woo draw his eyes up a bit to give him a strong image. Have the other kids do makeup that makes them look kind.”

“Yes.”

CEO Im pondered quietly about what else there was, then shouted, “Ah!”

The biggest problem remained.

“We have to make Yeon-woo memorize the dance!”

“That’s right!”

“Even if we give up on the live performance, make him at least move his lips to his part. Huh? Got it?”

“Yes. Yes!”

* * *

At that time, when it became a hot topic.

Rembrary was learning about the internet from the members.

Because there was no such thing in the original world, Rembrary was completely immersed in the internet.

And the next day.

Even when Jong-woo came to the dorm, Rembrary was holding his cell phone and exploring the internet.

“Don’t you have a schedule today?”

The members, who greeted Jong-woo with a yawn, were all wearing training suits.

“We have to teach him how to dance. You guys get up too.”

“Even if we memorize the dance… is there even a next stage?”

“Did you guys see the interview that came out?”

“…Yes.”

“After seeing that, SingSingSingSing and MusicIO contacted us. We can do two stages next week.”

The members’ eyes widened at Jong-woo’s words.

Jong-woo patted the backs of the cheering members to encourage them.

“We’re going to get a lot of attention this time. We have to show the best and coolest *moseup* [Korean word for ‘appearance’ or ‘image’] then. Got it?”

Watching the members cheer, Jong-woo bit his lip without realizing it.

They had fought a lot and scolded a lot for three years, but they were still a team.

Seeing the kids, who had been working hard even while being called nobodies, like that, he was also energized.

“We can make it. Let’s do well. Got it?”

After encouraging the members once again, Jong-woo hurriedly told them to change their clothes and took them to the agency.

And after telling the other members to practice dancing among themselves for now, he took only Yeon-woo to another room.

It was an audiovisual room with a large TV that took up the entire wall.

Jong-woo sat Rembrary in the center and played the broadcast of ‘s comeback stage for this song on TV.

“How is it?”

“It’s messy.”

Jong-woo sighed at Yeon-woo’s sharp evaluation and said.

“This. You have to memorize it in three days.”

*What kind of dance is that…* Rembrary was thinking, then looked at Jong-woo in surprise.

“What?”

He had never danced before. But-

“You want me to memorize this?”

“Yes. We have stages scheduled for next Friday and Sunday. You have to dance there.”

“!”

“You absolutely can’t just stand there this time. People get tired of the same issues. Even if it becomes a hot topic this time, it won’t even be noise marketing.”

“I’ve never danced before!”

“No. You danced a lot. You danced a lot since you were a trainee.”

“But-”

“Even if you lose your memory, it’ll still be in your muscles. Let’s memorize it. No, we have to memorize it. Absolutely.”

While thinking that it was difficult, Rembrary nodded.

Before Jong-woo came.

In fact, Rembrary asked the members how much money he had.

He knew that the human named Woo Yeon-woo was an idol, and he knew that idols were singers.

But Rembrary himself was not a singer, so he wanted to quit his job.

He wanted to quit his job as a singer and find a way to return to his original body.

But the members’ answer was shocking.

“Where do you have money? We haven’t even received payment.”

Woo Yeon-woo didn’t even have money to live on!

That being said, it would be difficult for Rembrary, who didn’t even have knowledge of this world, to raise money by doing other work.

In the end, Rembrary decided to continue Woo Yeon-woo’s job at least until he adapted to this world and earned money.

So, when Jong-woo suggested that he dance, he had no choice but to answer obediently that he would.

“Okay. I’ll try.”

“And you have to memorize the song too.”

“The song?”

“You don’t have to sing it. You just have to lip-sync for now.”

“What is lip-syncing?”

“Just move your lips to the lyrics. Got it?”

“…Okay.”

After Jong-woo showed the stage repeatedly ten times to the convinced Rembrary, he said.

“Get up.”

Then he went back to the practice room where the members were and instructed.

“Did you see where your position is at the beginning?”

Jong-woo was relieved when Rembrary found his position and stood there roughly.

*He’s become strange, but he understands what I’m saying.*

Woo Yeon-woo is not in charge of dancing, but he wasn’t bad at dancing either.

Even if he lost his memory, his senses wouldn’t have disappeared, so he thought he could make him memorize the dance in three days.

Just in time, the teacher in charge of dance also arrived.

“I heard. You lost your memory?”

Before Jong-woo went to pick up the members, he contacted him in advance, told him the situation, and asked for his help.

“Yes. But we still have to stand on stage. Please teach him well.”

Jong-woo repeatedly asked the teacher several times and stepped back, and the teacher made a loud noise, telling him to trust him.

“If you have a dance school, many students who have never danced before come, too.”

And the class started, and the dance teacher and Jong-woo realized an amazing fact.

Woo Yeon-woo, who had lost his memory, had become a klutz.